"Health Finance Institute (HFI) is a global health 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on closing the financing gap for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The organization analyzes and translates evidence to inform and catalyze investments towards the world’s deadliest health conditions. They partner directly with implementers, funders, and financial institutions to develop tailored financing solutions to maximize health and financial impact. During my internship at HFI, I worked as a business development intern on three key projects: 1) drafting project proposals and funding applications for accelerating the funding aims of the organization; 2) developing internal mechanisms for better projet management of conversations with prospective clients and opportunities; and 3) working on research projects with the innovative financing team for building an advanced blended finance offerings model. I spent the majority of my time on the first two objectives, wherein I not only supported the creation of proposals but also conducted extensive research on multiple databases to identify potential clients and donors. As a startup, these initiatives were of high significance to the organization. I was responsible for tracking the timelines, submissions, and ensuring the high quality of the deliverables. I also carried out a revamp of the internal business development board and made it more user-friendly for facilitating concerted and effective business development discussions.

I believe what I learned during my first year at SIPA was highly useful in my internship. An understanding of the essentials of impact investing and the health care policy landscape, in general, proved to be useful guiding tools to conduct reserach and identify suitable strategies and clients for HFI. Innovative concepts, such as impact investment mechanisms and different types of social enterprises, were very helpful when designing proposals for HFI or even during brainstorming sessions. In addition to that, the work on different client-based projects at Columbia allowed me to develop effective time and project management skills, both of which came in handy when I was working in a remote set-up.

Considering the remote set-up, I think I lost out on in-person time with the team, an aspect that would have enabled me to build even better relationships and networks. I compensated for those by initiating several virtual social activities with the team and was appreciated for those efforts, but the learning could have been accelerated if there hadd been an in-person component included. I openly discussed this gap with my manager at HFI and have received an invite for an upcoming in-person event being hosted by the organization.

Overall, working with an organization whose mission aligns with my goals was a fruitful experience, and I hope to develop further skills and hopefully gain a full-time position with the organization."